to retain

TO RETAIN, practice. To engage the services of an attorney or counsellor to 
manage a cause, at which time it is usual to give him a fee, called the 
retaining fee. The act by which the attorney is authorized to act in the 
case is called a retainer. 
     2. Although it is not indispensable that the retainer should be in 
writing, unless required by the other side, it is very expedient. It is 
therefore recommended, particularly when the client is a stranger, to 
require from him a written retainer, signed by himself; and, in order to 
avoid the insinuation that it was obtained by contrivance, it should be 
witnessed by one or more respectable persons. When there are several 
plaintiffs, it should be signed by all and not by one for himself and the 
others, especially if they are trustees or assignees of a bankrupt or 
insolvent. The retainer should also state whether it be given for a general 
or a qualified authority. Vide the form of a retainer in 3 Chit. Pr. 116, 
note m. 
     3. There is an implied contract on the part of an attorney who has been 
retained, that he will use due diligence in the course of legal proceedings, 
but it is not an undertaking to recover a judgment. Wright, R. 446. An 
attorney is bound to act with the most scrupulous honor, he ought to 
disclose to his client if he has any adverse retainer which may affect his 
judgment, or his client's interest; but the concealment of the fact does not 
necessarily imply fraud. 3 Mason's R. 305; 2 Greenl. Ev. Sec. 139.